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NCPNR urges action against lake encroachers

Dharwad, July 17, 2013, dhns:

The National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) has urged the government to take serious steps against the culprits involved in encroachment of Byrasandra Lake in Bangalore.

Speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday, NCPNR founder president S R Hiremath said former chief minister, S M Krishna’s son-in-law Siddhartha and nephew Raja Bagmane, were allegedly involved in the scam.

He said the encroachment took place in a sophisticated manner during the tenure of former chief ministers Krishna and N Dharam Singh. Of the 12.21 acres of tank bed area, 5.32 acres had been encroached. High-rise and posh buildings have come up on the encroached land, he said.

Studies conducted by the NCPNR found that Bagmane Developers was the major encroachers. They had constructed the Bagmane Tech Park on 1.01 acres. While Bagmane was the managing director of the company, Siddhartha was allegedly a major shareholder. The other major encroachers are Cognizant Technology Solutions India Private Limited and Texas India Private Limited, he added.

He said the Lake Development Authority (LDA) had handed over the tank to the Bagmane Developers in 2005 under the ‘tank adoption scheme’ to develop it. Instead, the company developed the land for commercial use and sold them to the multinational companies.

Despite protests, the LDA did not initiate action against the encroachers. It was only after a lot of hue and cry was raised that a notice was served to the company to furnish details about the development work undertaken.